WordPress, one of the largest Blogging platforms on the web, has announced that 18 million of its self-hosted Blogs will be iPad friendly. Frankly, iPad users everywhere should be excited.
Automattic which owns WordPress.com, flipped the switch on its iPad optimized interface allowing Bloggers to create a custom mobile experience that doesn’t sacrifice content and formatting because a mobile device is accessing the Blog.
Instead, Automattic focuses on the advantages tablets have over laptops and desktops such as a custom touch interface and full screen browser. OnSwipe worked closely with Automattic to support touch gestures such as “swiping, rotation, and many other features of the iPad.”
The new iPad optimized Blogs take on a magazine like interface that focuses on content and takes advantage of iOS’s unique features. The new iPad friendly interface is modular and highly customizable. Users can change the font on their mobile layouts and change skins.
WordPress’s new focus on mobile devices, especially the iPad shows a greater explosion of support for mobile Blogging. In addition, WordPress boasted great growth numbers for its service. Speaking at SXSW, founding developer Matt Mullenweg revealed WordPress had grown from 10.5 million Blogs last march to 18 million today and it now powers 10% of the web.
